Inquiry to Lowrance iFinder H2Oc owners

How well is your Lowrance iFinder H2O holding up?

Do you have any trouble seeing the color display in the sunlight?

Is there anything you hate about it?

I will be using the grey unit this winter. I didnt like the colors. I’m not sold on color GPS yet..

So far is works great. Color is the way to go! I have had a few friends use mine and they liked it so much they ended up buying one for themselves…..
I would recommend it to anyone, especially for that price!

I have had both, and I like them both. The color is easier for me to read (I have bad eyes). There is one thing for sure, they are both great units, and I won’t be caught on the ice without one.

The problem I’m having is it has a hard time seeing the chip. This weekend I was reading Lake Osakis just fine,Shut it off and turned it back on and it would not read that the chip was in. When I went to map Data,it would not give me the option for it. I’m going to have to email lowrance to see what the problem is.Other than that I like it alot!

I have both and the Color is the only way to go!

Change your settings so the background light stays on all the time, that helps a lot.

As for the function of the unit. They have a long way to go yet. The chips these days come with a lot of info on them and that will tends to lock the unit up occasionally. It also can be difficult to get the map data to load.

If you have a lot of problems you need to remove the batteries, remove the chip and then put them back in and restart. That usually fixed the problems. The units still need a lot of work in my opinion but for the money they are the best I have found to run those big Navionic Chips.

It will be nice when the beef up the unit so it can run the entire chip instead of small sections of the state. Like I said, still a good bang for the buck but not bullet proof by any means.

The other two issues I have are the screen scrathes VERY easy, mine is almost shot after one season on the ice. The other is the power cord is not the best. Mine went bad after a couple months.

I really like the H2OC. I use it in my truck more than anywhere else though. I love the color. I use mine with the Mapcreate software and I can’t believe how accurate the road maps have been. I do have to have the GPS tilted at a proper angle to read it in the sunlight, but I haven’t seen that as a problem. The mapping seems to stand out better in color than in black and white. I don’t have the best vision either, so the color really helps me.

Is there anything I hate about it? I don’t think so. The only problem I had was with the power cord. It went bad so I have to get it replaced by Lowrance. It’s under warranty so I’m not too worried about that. A couple of my customers said the same thing happened to them and Lowrance just sent them a new power cord, no questions asked.

Have to agree with the rest, I started with the I finder Pro ( black & White ) The H20C is much easier for my Eyes to pick up on when useing it on the roads. I don’t think it makes that much difference if useing it just over water. (every thing is all the same color any way)
Be careful the face does scratch easy, but by far hands down the easiest to use and opperate.
I have found it very valuable to down load from Map Create areas of the country that I want to travel to and have used it as my only map on road trips. Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Black Hills…..
Unbelievable when useing the Find key to look for anything such as gas,food,hotels,Menards- you name it.
It gets a much deserved 2 thumbs up for this unit …….BB

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The problem I’m having is it has a hard time seeing the chip. This weekend I was reading Lake Osakis just fine,Shut it off and turned it back on and it would not read that the chip was in. When I went to map Data,it would not give me the option for it. I’m going to have to email lowrance to see what the problem is.Other than that I like it alot!

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I know what you mean for some reason it will default back to a different area, what I do is hit the Page or Exit keys until I get back to the current location….

is there a way to put a clear plastic like material over the screen? Kind on like what come on your cell phone, which I leave on for as long as possible till my teenager says “what is this for?” as he tears it off the screen! Don’t know if this would hinder the view or not, and Wade a new H2OC is still at the top of my list, just not the wife’s, I guarantee we will get hooked up before hard ice. Just hard to think past rooster season, and ohh… passed on Cyclones vs. Husker tickets this morning. Have a niece’s b-day party.

I have the H2Oc as well as an older Eagle Expedition in B&W. I couldnt tell you at the moment where the old one is but my new one has 100’s of hours of use already and only had it since this spring and LOVE it. Cant wait to play with it on the hard water.

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passed on Cyclones vs. Husker tickets this morning.

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Nooooooo!

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is there a way to put a clear plastic like material over the screen?

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I’d bet there is a way but I am not aware of any specifics. They make that plastic bag for the non-waterproof units but I don’t think that’s what you want.

Lowrance is a good company. They can certainly figure out how to put a better cover on that unit. I have an old Garmin handheld from 8 years ago and it has been through everything and there are very few scratches on that one. I am sure Lowrance is well aware of the issue and hopefully they spend a little money and get a better screen cover

Wow, good feedback…thanks everyone!

…decision time.

Your local electronics/department store should have universal screen protectors for PDA’s, digital cameras, etc. They are like a static sticker. I havn’t used them, but my friend has them on his camcorders lcd.

Great idea River Runt!

I have some sitting in my drawer and never thought of that!

Tough vinyl with adhesive that is make to “write” on…Right ON!

I use the H20 (thanks Uncle Wade!) for a back up to my X-19 in the summer for the boat. I travel 8 miles in the dark on the river…and it’s GREAT! I’m guessing that Lawrance has sold a TON of them.

Winter is coming and it’s going to be my main gps on the wheeler for fishing.

I’ve said it before…Color in sonar and gps’s is like back in the 60’s with TV. Black and White works, but once a person uses color…B&W is history!